Stowaway
by Flash Foreward
Summary: Trapped, left behind, and presumed dead, he'll do whatever it takes to get back to his ship and the man he loves. Kyle/Scotty established relationship.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Star Trek

**A/N:** I've had the idea for this story for awhile, and I finally sat down and decided to write it. I'm hoping to update at least once a week, and I do know exactly where I'm going so I should be able to keep up. Enjoy!.

**Stowaway**

**Prologue**

**A Moment to Mourn**

Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott sat alone in his quarters, staring up at the ceiling above as the ship moved through space. He could feel the faint vibrations and hear the soft hum of the engines, but the sensations brought him none of their usual comfort. Not today, not with Lieutenant Kyle somewhere on Tenair IV, most likely dead.

The very thought made Scotty bristle with anger once again at the hopelessness of it all.

He'd tried to go back for Kyle when the scans turned up nothing, he'd insisted that the Captain form a search party; but Mr. Spock and his Vulcan brain had reasoned the odds not only of surviving another trip to the planet, but also the chances of finding Lieutenant Kyle alive, and Captain Kirk had conceded the point.

There'd been a ceremony, the Captain had spoken, but it still seemed to Scotty that no one really felt the weight of the loss. No one but him. They had lost a colleague and friend, certainly, but Scotty had been closest to him. Closer than even Uhura, with whom Scotty shared most things, knew.

So as the listened to the hum of the ship, Montgomery Scott allowed himself a moment to mourn in his own way before duty called him back to engineering and the task of tending to the _Enterprise_.


	2. 1: Escape

**Chapter One**

**Escape  
**

He woke to a clicking sound. At first, he thought it was a clock, and he wondered what time it was. He opened his eyes, but all he saw was darkness. He could almost see a faint light to his right, and he tried to turn his head to see what it was, but he could not move. He tried a few more times, then gave up, accepting that he could not look around. As he conceded himself to the situation, taking deep breaths to keep himself from panicking, he began to feel the metal beneath him and the straps holding him in place.

"Oh," he whispered. He'd tried to say it aloud, but his throat was dry and unused. He licked his lips, staring up at the darkness and wondering if there was any water around. Once the thought had crossed his mind, he realized how silly it was. Strapped to a table in a dark room, and all he could think of was having a drink? He laughed in spite of himself. It was a quiet, throaty laugh, and it was brief, but he felt a little safer knowing he could find the humor in such a situation.

Once this passed, however, the seriousness of his predicament fell heavily upon his mind. He closed his eyes again, listening hard, only to find that the clicking sound was gone. There wasn't even an echo or the faint tick in the distance to indicate that it had ever even existed, and he could only assume the source had disappeared sometime between his realization of where he was and the brief moment of misplaced amusement; and he concluded that the clicking must be attached to some sort of creature. It came either from a device or the creature itself, he could not guess which.

He tested his restraints once again, but they were too strong for him to break, and he gave up quickly. He took a few more deep breaths, deciding to try and get some sleep. There wasn't much else he could do.

The next time he woke, the clicking was louder and more frequent. _All right_, he thought, his eyes still closed. _It's not a clock_. He opened his eyes, but promptly closed them again as bright light filled his vision.

"He awakes," a voice to his left hissed as he watched colors explode behind his eyes from the blinding light. "Prepare the questions," the voice continued, and he realized some of the clicking was coming from the same place as the voice.

_Definitely the creatures, then_, he thought, waiting for what came next.

"Your companions have abandoned you," a new voice said, this one coming from somewhere by his feet. "So you will answer us."

"Kyle, John Thomas," he began before they could. "Lieutenant, Junior Grade, United Federation of Planets. SE102-433." Something jabbed him in the side and he bit down on his tongue to keep from crying out, he would not give him the pleasure of his pain.

"You will answer," the first voice said. "You will tell us of your Federation. You have no other choice. You are alone."

"Kyle, John Thomas," he said again. "Lieutenant, Junior Grade, United Federation of Planets. SE102-433." As he spoke, reciting his name, rank, and serial number over and over as he had been trained, despite his captors' prods and questions, the events of the away mission on Tenair IV came flooding back to him.

_It was bright on the surface and Kyle had to squint to see as the Captain broke them up into teams of two to explore the rocky rises surrounding them to see what else they'd find. Kyle didn't think there'd be much more than rocky desert, but he didn't say anything, he just headed off with Scotty to the east, their tridcorders recording as they went._

_"So, Johnny," Scotty said as they picked their way across a rather precarious stretch of rock. "How long's it been since you last went on an away mission?"_

_"Not long enough," Kyle replied. He knelt to examine an oddly dark patch of earth, but, finding nothing interesting, stood soon after and turned to find that Scotty was grinning at him._

_"You like hiding behind those transporter controls, don't you?" the chief engineer asked._

_Kyle rolled his eyes, but a light laugh slipped from his lips. "Sure," he said. "Sure I do." He shook his head and took a few steps forward. "It's safer there," he said. The minute the words were out of his mouth, something grabbed him around the ankle and he fell hard onto his stomach as whatever had him pulled him back. He scrambled against the dirt, reaching out as Scotty raced towards him, phaser at the ready and communicator open._

_The next thing Kyle could remember was waking up the first time._

"Answer, Terran!" the voice to his left said, and something sharp raked across his ribs and drew him from his thoughts. He grunted, grinding his teeth against the pain.

"Tell us of your Federation," the voice at his feet said, and Kyle was pretty sure he could hear it pacing. "Tell us of its plans for this world."

"Why do we ask?" a new voice, this one on Kyle's right, piped up, a soft wine in the hissing of its speech. "We know what they plan, we know of their wish for domination."

"Kyle, John Thomas," Kyle said through gritted teeth, knowing there was no way to correct the creatures misconceptions. He knew they'd never believe him. "Lieutenant, Junior Grade. SE102-433."

"You will answer!" the voice to the left shouted, and something sharp jabbed into Kyle's side. He grunted, trying to shift away from the pain, squeezing his eyes shut and gritting his teeth.

"Enough!" the voice near his feet declared. "Put him in a cell and prepare the machine. He will talk."

Kyle didn't like the sound of that, but he figured being put in a cell would be better than being prodded with pointy objects. At least, until that mysterious machine was ready; but he wasn't planning on sticking around long enough to find out exactly what it was, anyway.

Kyle felt a jolt and it was dark again.

The next time he woke, he could see. He was in a small cell, lying on a slab of wood that must have been the bed, with heavy metal bars between him and the hallway. He swallowed down the panic threatening to rise in him, focusing on his Star Fleet training and what to do in a hostage situation. He forced himself to sit up, pleased to find that he was no longer restrained, despite the pain that shot through him. He was stiff and sore from whatever had been done to him, but he was mobile. And being mobile was a necessity if he was going to get out of there, and he was going to get out of there.

He stood, stretching out his arms and legs, loosening his muscles, then smoothed out his torn up uniform, straitening it out and giving himself some form of dignity. Having done this, he crossed the cell and peered out through the bars. The hallway beyond held no other cells and only one door at the far end. He turned his attention to the door of his cell, looking down at the lock. It looked solid and, after giving the bars a quick shake, he turned back to his cell.

It was small with just that wood slab in it. The walls were roughly carved stone, and Kyle ran a hand over the wall beside him, feeling the sharp rise and fall of the rock beneath his fingers. He sighed and dropped his hand. The room was painfully straight forward, with no place to hide a secret passageway and no way to make a lock pick. He was going to have to wait for someone to open the door.

He shook his head and sat back down on the bed, watching the door and waiting, thinking through different ways to get the advantage when the time came, depending on how many of his captors came and for what purpose. As he waited, his mind began to drift to the reason he was here. He couldn't blame the Captain for leaving him behind, and he was sure they had done everything they could to try and find him, but knowing the _Enterprise_ wasn't up there waiting for him made Kyle feel the loneliest he had been since he was assigned to the ship. He had friends there, a life, and he had Scotty, and knowing that they were going on without him almost made him want to give up.

Almost.

The clicking started up again, drawing him from his thoughts, and a soft thump of footsteps accompanied it. Kyle watched as a creature came into view. It was a good foot taller than Kyle, its body was mostly humanoid, though its hands and what little else Kyle could see of its body were covered in a rough, black skin that looked vaguely like the exoskeleton of an insect. It peered at Kyle with its strange, bulging white eyes, and the clicking was coming from pincers in its mouth that tapped together. In its black hands, it was carrying a tray of food.

_At least they want me alive_, Kyle thought wryly. He held himself completely still as the creature opened the door and set the tray just inside the door.

"Could you bring it closer?" Kyle asked before the creature had even straightened up. "I can't move very well." The creature tilted its head to the side, surveying Kyle for a moment, then lifted the tray again and walked to the bed, setting the tray down beside the prisoner; it then fell to the ground as Kyle lashed out at its legs. He quickly snatched up the keys and rushed to the door, pulling it shut and locking the hissing creature inside before running down the hall to the door he'd seen earlier. He grabbed the handle and tried to turn it, but found it locked, and he quickly scrambled with the keys, trying them one at a time until he finally heard the click of the lock turning.

He pulled the door open and looked out into another long hallway, this one with doors up and down each side as well as a door at the very end. He stayed in the doorway for a minute, debating whether to try each door or just make a break for the one at the end. He decided to make a run for it and sprinted off, the door he'd just come out of slamming shut behind him. It looked like he had a clear run, and he was just starting to relax when the door he was heading for began to open. He skidded to a halt, his boots scraping against the dirt floor, and grabbed at the handle of the nearest door. He expected it to be locked, and was surprised when it swung quickly inward on squeaky hinges. He ducked into the dark room beyond and shut the door as quietly as he could, holding his breath and listening for the clicks and footfalls of a passing creature.

As he waited, his eyes adjusted to the darkness, and he surveyed the room before him. There was a metal table in the center with straps hanging down from the sides, and Kyle figured it must have been the room he first woke up in. He glanced at the edge of the room, there was a table pressed against the wall with long, heavy wooden sticks lined up along it along with some sharp, metal instruments.

_Torture chamber_, Kyle thought, then froze. He heard shuffling footsteps on the other side of the door and quickly shifted so that if the door opened he would be hidden behind it. A few seconds later, the door swung open. Kyle took a deep breath, holding it in as the room filled with light and the footsteps stopped.

"I know you're in there, Terran," a voice said. Kyle slammed his shoulder into the door and it collided with the creature on the other side. He swung the door back open and jumped over the writhing body into the hall, then sprinted towards the door he hoped was the exit. He slammed into the door at full speed and automatically started trying keys even as he heard the footsteps of the creature coming after him.

He was just about to give up, figuring the creature was too close for it to matter now, when the lock clicked and the door opened. He was faced with another hall running perpendicular to the door and a set of stairs right across from him. He chose the stairs, taking them two at a time until he came to nothing, just a ceiling. He ran his hands over the stone and pushed with all his strength; and as the creature began mounting the stairs after him, the stone shifted. He pushed harder until he had opened the door entirely and then crawled out onto the dirt and rock of the planet's surface, two moons and clusters of stars shedding a faint, silvery light.

Kyle scrambled to his feet and turned, pulling the stone up and dropping it back into place just as the pursuing creature's head appeared in the hole. There was a grunt and a thud and Kyle was satisfied that he wouldn't be pursued for awhile.

He looked around. It wasn't the place he'd been grabbed, but he was pretty sure the stone door was the same darker brown as the patch he'd investigated before, and he made a mental note to steer clear of any other dark spots on the landscape. Wit this in mind, he set off to look for a place to camp out, he had a feeling he was going to be there for awhile.


	3. 2: Survival

**A/N:** Sorry for how long this chapter took, I have a bit of trouble writing action so I spent a lot of time tweaking (it's still not the greatest, but if I tweak it anymore I may tweak it too far, y'know?) Enjoy, lemme know what you think. I'll try to get the next chapter up next week.

**Chapter Two  
Survival**

The sun beat down on the arid landscape and Kyle tried to fit more of his lanky body under the rocky outcropping he had found to hide under for the day. He'd been moving nonstop all night, trying to avoid his captors as they used the cool night air to try and hunt for him. Daytime was safer, as long as he steered clear of their trap doors, but finding shade was tricky. He'd found water and food his second night out, a small trickling stream that only really flowed at night, with some fruit bearing trees around it, so all he had to do besides not get recaptured was not die of heat stroke.

He pressed his still damp shirt harder against his body, glad to have thought of soaking the garment as much as he could before the sun came up. It helped a little, though the shirt tended to dry too fast to really be effective. This morning, however, Kyle had found safe shelter faster than usual and the little shade was enough to keep his shirt damp just a little longer than usual. It was not, however, enough to make a comfortable place to sleep. Not that Kyle wasn't going to try anyway; he needed his strength to avoid the Tenairans, after all. Listening for their clicks only helped if he was awake enough to pay attention.

Kyle sighed and tried to push even further under the rock, closing his eyes and focusing on his breathing; a Vulcan meditation technique Mr. Spock had demonstrated when Kyle had asked for help with his tendency to panic. He hadn't had much trouble with it since he had worked up the nerve to talk to Scotty about how he felt, but being stranded on a barren planet with natives wanting to torture him had a way of bringing his worst traits to the surface; so he focused on his breathing and tried to get some sleep.

He must have dozed off for at least a few hours, because when he next opened his eyes the sun had shifted. It was sinking down, stretching the shadows out as it set. Kyle stayed where he was, watching as the sky slowly began to darken. Soon, he'd be up again, despite his aching muscles, running all around the planet in an effort to avoid creatures who knew the surface much better than he did.

He closed his eyes as the hopelessness of the entire situation washed over him. He'd been so focused on surviving these past few days that he'd never stopped to think about what he was surviving for. No ship was going to come and rescue him, and as far as Starfleet was concerned, he was missing in action; most likely presumed dead. The only way he was getting out of there was by some unforeseen miracle, and Kyle had never really believed in any sort of god.

"If I get out of this," he muttered. "I may start."

Just as the words slipped from his lips, he heard the familiar buzz of a transporter beam.

Kyle froze. There was no way Captain Kirk would risk sending someone down unless they had found definitive life signs, and Kyle doubted they'd stuck around long enough for him to get above ground; there was no way the people who'd just beamed down were here for him. No matter how hard he focused on that thought, however, he couldn't help but hope.

He listened closely, focusing on the crunch of footsteps against the dirt as he waited for some hint as to who had just appeared behind him. He didn't have to wait long, only a few minutes had passed when he heard the familiar clicks of a Tenairan, and the pacing stopped.

"You have come, you have brought it?" the Tenairan said.

"Yes, we have your damned oil, now where's the prisoner?" came another voice, deep and angry.

Kyle let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, a soft sigh of disappointment.

"Patience, Commander," the Tenairan replied.

"Oh, I've been patient," the Commander took a step forward, his boots scuffing loudly in the dirt. "I'm sick of being patient. Where is he?"

There was a long pause and Kyle debated peering out from his hiding place, but he figured it was safer to stay put for now and wait for the conversation to continue.

"We do not have him," the Tenairan finally said, its voice quiet. "We did not expect him to get away, but he was too fast for us."

"Is he at least still on the planet?" Kyle could tell the Commander was struggling to keep his voice steady.

"Yes, he must be. His ship left, we are too far down for them to find us with their machines."

The Commander mumbled something that sounded like "of course you are," then, "did you catch his name at least?"

"We recall…we recall letters."

"His initials? All right, let's have them, then."

"The last is K. The beginning J then T."

"J.T.K.?"

"Yes." The silence stretched and Kyle found that he was holding his breath once again. "We have done well?" the Tenairan finally asked.

"Yes, yes, take the oil."

There was an odd squeaking sound, then the clicking receded into the distance and all that was left was the pacing Commander. Kyle shifted position, careful not to make too much noise, getting ready to run if he had to. He listened carefully to the footsteps, waiting to see what the Commander's next move would be.

"Send down a search party," he said, and Kyle assumed he was talking into a communicator. "He's on the surface somewhere, so get those scanners fixed and find him!"

Kyle didn't wait a second longer. He jumped to his feet and ran, heading straight for the river. He knew the chances of his not being seen were slim, and he was fairly certain he heard a shout of surprise from behind him, but he had to get a drink and some food or he wouldn't stand a chance. He glanced at the red sky, wishing the sun would hurry up and finish setting. He knew the terrain best at night, far better than his pursuers would, whoever they were.

When he reached the stream, Kyle ducked down and scooped a handful of water into his mouth, just in time to avoid being hit in the back by a phaser blast. He flattened himself to the ground, pressing his body against a pile of rocks, then waited, counting off the seconds slowly. He heard another phaser fire, then scrambled forward and rolled behind a tree, flattening his back against its weak bark. He carefully stood up, grabbing a piece of fruit from one of the lower hanging branches. He bit into it, then waited until he heard another phaser burst before ducking down and running towards a rocky outcropping a few feet away. He jumped behind it, narrowly avoiding even more phaser fire, and ran.

The rock made good cover as he ran, keeping low and slipping through small passages his pursuers would most likely miss as he worked to distance himself from them. He could hear their shouts and their phaser fire, and he was fairly certain they were speaking to each other in another language; one that sounded vaguely familiar, though he could not place it.

Kyle paused, then glanced around. He didn't see anyone near him, and he crept forward slowly and ducked into a small cave he had found on his second day on the surface but hadn't been able to use because of its proximity to one of the Tenairans' holes. Now, however, it would provide enough safety for him to have a short rest.

He sat down heavily on the hard floor, leaning his head back and closing his eyes as he took a few deep breaths. He thought about eating more of the fruit still clutched in his hand, but the task of lifting his hand to his mouth seemed impossible after all that running. Still, he had to get up soon anyway, if only he could…


	4. 3: Imprisoned

**A/N:** Aight, finally, chapter three! Sorry that took so long, School decided it should start. This is also a bit short, but it works the way it is. Enjoy!

**Chapter Three  
Imprisoned**

"You are not Kirk." The voice was familiar, and Kyle blinked his eyes open, half expecting an _Enterprise_ crew member to be standing before him. Instead, he found himself looking up into the face of a very angry Romulan. "Who are you?" And he remembered the voice from before, when he was hiding under the rock; the Commander who had spoken with the Tenairan.

"Kyle, John Thomas. Lieutenant, Junior Grade," Kyle began, but before her could continue, the Romlan's fist collided with his face. His vision blurred as pain shot through his head. He tasted blood and spat to the side, staining the rocky floor beside him.

"A _Lieutenant_?" the Romulan snarled. Kyle's eyes refocused as the Romulan grabbed his chin and wrenched his head around to look him in the eye. He grimaced, wincing away, but the Romluan's grip was strong. "Where is your ship?" he asked. "Where is Kirk?"

"Kyle, John Thomas," Kyle whispered. "Lieutenant–"

"Shut up!" the Romulan shouted, hitting Kyle again. His vision blurred more, the endges darkening, and he groaned as he felt a trickle of blood on his chin. "You will answer me, where is Kirk?" the Romulan said again.

Kyle swallowed hard, trying to focus his vision, and cleared his throat. "Lieu…Lieutenant, Junior Grade." The fist hit him again and his head slammed back into the wall. He fell sideways, his vision swimming and bile rising in his throat."

"Take him to the ship." He heard the command from somewhere far away, then everything went dark.

He woke in a small room, a white bench beneath him. He rolled onto his side, his head throbbing and his vision blurring for just a moment at the sudden motion. He waited for the pain to fade and his vision to clear before he slowly sat up, biting back a groan. He took in the blank walls and the doorway, most likely blocked by a force field. There was guard standing outside, hands behind his back. A wry smile twitched at Kyle's lips as he realized there was only one – you didn't need to guards for a lowly Liuetenant.

He shook his head to clear it, but nearly blacked out as pain shot through his temples. He took a few deep breaths, counting them, focusing on them, waiting for the pain to subside again so he could see. When he regained his vision, he saw the guard had turned to face him, an amused smirk on his face, and he realized he must have cried out. The guard shook his head and pushed a button on a panel Kyle couldn't see.

"He's awake," he said, then turned back around, hands draped behind his back once again.

Kyle leaned back, taking deep breaths, his eyes closed against the room's bright, clinical light. He knew the guard had called the Commander, and just thinking about the man reminded him of the encounter in the cave and made his head hurt more; so he tried to clear his mind. Maybe if he focused he could find a way out of this – he'd learned enough about brigs from the Academy and Scotty that if he had a few unguarded moments, he was pretty sure he could break out.

But then, where would he go?

Breaking a lock was pretty easy if you knew enough about how it worked, but they were in space, and Kyle was pretty sure that even if he could find the shuttle bay he wouldn't be able to figure out how to fly a Romulan shuttle before they found him again.

He sighed and opened his eyes, staring out the doorway at the wall beyond. It seemed he had gone from one hopeless situation to another, and he started to wonder if he'd ever get back to the _Enterprise_. From the look of things, he was getting more and more certain that he would not. That he'd die out there in space, with no one to mourn him.

The heavy thud of footsteps drew Kyle out of his thoughts, and the Commander appeared in the doorway. The force field dropped for a moment and he stepped inside. He had changed out of his stiff, gray uniform into darker, looser clothes. _Torture clothes,_ Kyle thought as the Commander surveyed him. But the Commander didn't strike him, didn't order him to be taken to another room for questioning, he just stared. Kyle stared right back, forcing himself not to break eye contact, until, finally, the Commander spoke.

"Can you fix this ship?"

"Excuse me?"

"This ship is a prototype," the Commander explained. "We are having trouble keeping certain key systems operational. If you help us, we will take you back to your ship."

"You just want me to tell you where Kirk is," Kyle said, narrowing his eyes.

The Commander shrugged innocently. "If the _Enterprise_ happens to be your ship, it is hardly my fault."

"You know damn well it's my ship," Kyle said, gesturing to the delta on his chest.

"I suppose I do, yes," the Commander said. "But you want to get home, and we can take you there. If you help us."

"No."

"Pardon?"

"I won't help you."

The Commander pursed his lips and crossed his arms over his chest, all pretense gone. "We will find Kirk," he said, "and you will both die." With that, he turned on his heel and left, and Kyle closed his eyes again, this time letting go of what little hope he'd had left.


End file.
